A few months ago, I was teaching in a school where a kid said I looked like somebody.

immediately I said Dave Chapelle, because I usually get him or Chris Rock.

The kid then said “Who was Dave Chapelle? Ouch! (The Chapelle Show went off the air in 2006).

Well that kid might find out who Mr. Chapelle is real soon as the former King of Comedy Central is rumored to be coming back …but not TV, but online.

According to The Daily, Chapelle is “planning a new TV show with a paid subscription service like Netflix, Sony’s Crackle, or Hulu…A move to a streaming service like Hulu would allow Chapelle to bypass the lack of creative control he claims he had at Comedy Central parent company Viacom”.

Howard Stern was one of the first to jump into subscription based arena, when he went from free radio to Sirius XM and recently Netflix signed director David Fincher to a $100 million deal for an online show called House of Cards,” starring Kevin Spacey.

The move by Dave Chapelle is an interesting one because unlike Stern whose demos skew a little bit older, Chapelle’s fan base are largely young people and minorities.

The question is will his demos will be as loyal as Stern’s and pay for his online content? If the price is reasonable probably yes, but if his online subscription is too high, his audience might search for a cheaper (.i.e. free) option.

However this debate will become a moot issue once Smart TV’s become a lot more economical in the future, (Smart TV’s are television sets that feature web apps and streaming services).

As Smart TV’s become cheaper and more of the norm in households across the country, there will be greater chance that you will be able to buy an internet TV tier/package, just like premium packages through your cable and satellite provider

So in essence, deciding to pay for Dave Chapelle’s online show on Crackle.com for your Smart TV will be the same as choosing the HBO / Showtime movie package or the Sunday Ticket for NFL games.

Until that time comes, still wondering if I would pay to watch Dave Chapelle’s online show…however the prospect of watching a Chapelle show skits on Anthony Weiner or Arnold Schwarzenegger might be too good to pass up.

I guess I need to start saving pennies for my Rick James piggy bank huh?

What do you think? Would pay for online content for Dave Chapelle or anyone else?